IP Address - What Is It? How To Check Anonymous Messages And E-mails

IP Address.

Now I know I may be a bit slow on the uptake, but bear with me, I have only just learned this! I have discovered a new toy. Well it's not really a toy, but to me it was a bit like finding the gold and the end of the rainbow. What are you talking about? you may ask. Well, let me explain. As we are all aware, the more we write on Hubpages or any other site, the more people we attract that make comments and become our followers and friends. This of course is one of the main reasons why we write on here, it makes the world a bit smaller. And we make friends that in the real world we would never ever meet. Fantastic. But with the upside, we also have a big downside. We can also attract Spammers. And not only Spammers, which to be quite honest are only slightly annoying, we can also attract a few nasty characters out there who make it their prime directive to annoy or even sometimes scare us by writing horrible remarks and even sending us e-mails. Usually along the lines of 'I love you, will you write to me pleeeze!' I know that sounds a bit drastic, but believe me it has happened to me, and I am sure that it has happened to you! I have been proposed to by two guys who saw me on here, they were American and looked very respectable, but no thanks, I don't do computer dating! In fact if truth be told, I would probably frighten them to death! Well, they were looking for someone who could cook, clean and sew, and regularly went to church! Wow, they were really good judges of character there then! lol. And of course I got the guy from Turkey, who wanted to 'Lurrvvvee Me! True! I swear as I'm sitting here! Ha Ha little do they know they would soon send me back! I am woman! And I am proud! Oh, and I don't cook, sew, clean and go to Church! Well, not very often! Hem!

I am on Zee Case!

My Point?

What the hell is my point? You are asking now. Well let me tell ya! These guys weren't scary. Just funny. But believe me, they could have been. And if there is one thing that is even more scary is the fact that we don't know where they live! They could be around the corner for all we know! Then, Like a light bulb suddenly flashing brightly in my mind, I was sitting answering comments, like we all do every day, and Wham! I suddenly saw it. The IP address! How stupid am I? Now let me explain one thing. I didn't have a clue what it was apart from watching TV and someone saying, 'let's trace him by the IP address!' So without having a clue what I was doing, I read the number in the comment box. If you look you will see it in all the comments, for example you have the name of the person, then the comment, and to the right of the box you will see the words Deny or Approve etc, just underneath it is a number, it looks something like this, IP 50.800.242.34, Then go to Google search, just type in that number, and enter. And I got a load of websites that made as much sense as mud on glass to me. but I persevered and I found a great site called whatismyipaddress.com and after doing a bit of investigating, they don't call me Hercules Poirot for nothing! Ha!, I realised that not only could I know my own IP address, but even better, I could find out where those horrible nasty, they think they are oh so funny, comments are coming from! Ha Ha gotcha! All you got to do is write in the IP address, and click enter, and Voila' you have got their country and county!

Privacy. Don't Worry.

Don't worry! I know what you are thinking! Oh my goodness, does this mean everyone will know where I live? No. It doesn't mean that. It just shows you where the person comes from. i.e. London England. This is the nearest IP address point for me. It will also show the location on a map at the bottom of the page! The map doesn't always work though, so don't think there is anything wrong with your computer. You can also check whether they have been blacklisted, and so many more great little bits of information. Obviously there is probably quite a few sites out there that will do this for you, but I like this one the best as it is so simple to use. It will tell you what your IP address is! But more importantly, if you get a particularly annoying spammer, or even worse, someone who is being definitely nasty to you, at least you can go and check where they come from. You may not be able to go around their house and give them a good talking too, but believe me, you will feel so much safer when you realise that they are in a different country!

The other good thing about it is that you can also do this with e-mail addresses. If you put in the e-mail address of the anonymous person, it will show you their location.

What I like about whatismyipaddress.com is that it not only shows you how to look up your IP Address, it also explains how to trace e-mails, check your Speed with a Speed test for how fast your Internet is working, and also do a Blacklist check on the IP address that you are looking up!

How To Find IP Sites.

1. Go to Comment box.

2. Look under the Deny Button

3. Find The IP Number i.e. IP241.333.18

4. Key in the Number in the Google Search Box

5. Find WhatismyIPaddress.com or similar Site.

6. Put IP number in their Search box.

7. Find their Country!

GoodLuck! Nowgoandtakealook!

This simple explanation is for people like me who know virtually nothing about the behind the scenes working of the internet! I am sure there will be people reading this who are saying to themselves, 'Duh talk about dumb'! Well sorry, that's just me! A bit slow on the uptake, but fast as a Whippet after a Hare when I get my nose to the scent! Ha!

Comments 67 comments

Excellent! I mean I need the simple instruction lol. I like your attitude in the beginning too, "I don't cook, etc all the time"lol

Well I will check this out, interesting!

zzron 6 years ago from Houston, TX.

Great info thanks so much. That was a lot to take in but I will take a look.

ehern33 6 years ago

Funny, but so true. I have something called statcounter on my website that gives me alot of information about my visitors. Pretty much the same thing but more detail as to where they came from before they visited my site and a dozen other tid bits that help manage the website. Plus I can look up an IP address too. Great tool to have for those instances that you need to know.

christopheranton 6 years ago from Gillingham Kent. United Kingdom

Very useful Nell. Thanks. I might try that out sometime.

sligobay 6 years ago from east of the equator

Hello Nell- Well I'll be horsewhipped and hogtied cuz I thought that IP thing was my cue for the lieu; why I never knew it was my address, too. Great Hub for me to learn something new,so that's a hardy "me too" for 'we two". I love having a good 'hub score' and being stupid as a rock about computer techie thingees. Cheers. P.S.:

You'll note from my profile page that I've left Ireland and am living near NYC; or you can see where I P.

De Greek 6 years ago from UK

So when I wrote to you that I want to "'Lurrvvvee" you too, my IP address did not show up? Damn! :-)))

viking305 6 years ago from Ireland

Great article thanks. It is always good to know we can trace these nutters by their IP address.

K Rajasekharan 6 years ago

Very informative hub

Congratulations !!!

DoorMattnomore 6 years ago

I have seen someone say so many times in stalking and trolly type fights.."HAHA!! I have your I.P. address!! I know who you are".....Then one day, after someone actually said it to me...(I'm not a stalker or anything, the person was paranoid and thought I was faking to be someone else.....anyway..) Panicked, I figured out what it is and where to find it, but had no clue how to use it. Thanks a bunch for this!! I'm glad to know it doesn't point out my actually home address.

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, schoolgirl, thanks for reading it, I think that anything that needs explaining, should be done in a simple way, and have a laugh at the same time, I believe in goes in our heads better! lol but seriously if you think about it, if you read anything that starts 'IP address will be defined blah blah, what you going to do? yep! read something else! ha ha it's a fact that if it is easy it goes in better and stays there! I hope! with me that is.....! lol thanks so much nell

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, zzron, thanks for stopping by, it is quite fun when you figure it out! I was checking everybody that had sent me an anonymous comment over the last few months! lol cheers nell

Hi, ehern, great to see you, I know that I should have shown this a long time ago, but it's one of those things that get pushed to the back when you are writing, I am so pleased I have found it now! it just goes to show that my brain retains the knowledge of something like an IP address, but it takes months to spit it out! ha ha thanks as always nell

Hi, Christopher, it certainly is useful if you get a funny comment, funny as in weird! you can figure that luckily they don't just live around the corner! ha ha thanks again nell

Hi, sligo, that sounds like me! we will be two rocks together! ha ha so you have moved? I will track you down with the IP! ha ha thanks as always, nell

Hi, De Greek, ha ha Oh yes it did, I have it tucked away nicely so I can track you down again! hee hee but seriously now if I get some dodgy e-mails or comments, I can spy on them! ha ha, well, not really but sort off! thanks again nell

Hi, viking, good to see you, it took me a while to figure it out, but I got there in the end! ha ha thanks so much nell

Hi, KR, thanks for stopping by and reading it, I will certainly pop over to your site and take a peek! okay? thanks nell

Hi, DoorMatt, no I was getting a bit panicky when I realised that it pointed to our country's etc, but luckily it is not that accurate! but I am sure there is something similar on the internet that can track you down! I have seen it on TV! But I think I would rather not know about it! ha ha thanks so much nell

Merlin Fraser 6 years ago from Cotswold Hills

Hi Nell,

Great Hub, I knew some of this from watching forensic TV programmes and researching their work but you have filled in a couple of gaps for me and given me a task to perform.

Can I use this knowledge to trace those silly E mails that ask me to help them get millions of dollars out of strange locations....?

Those and the daily barrage of young ladies(?)offering me luv and pictures....

I'd love to prove it's a hairy arsed Ex matelot in Portsmouth having a laf !

Loveslove 6 years ago from England

A barrage of young ladies offering love and pics Merlin ? How come I dont get a barrage of males asking to give me love and pics....??

TheListLady 6 years ago from New York City

Great information. Both useful to me and something to share. I'll bookmark it - and rated up of course! Thanks a million!

lyjo 6 years ago

Oh Nell, you are awesome...this hub is perfect for me! This was great...for I too am slow to start...at least I'm not the only one! Thanks soooooo much! Definitely need this and more help with all this stuff! Its one of the reasons I don't have my picture or say too much.... Take such good care!

poetvix 6 years ago from Gone from Texas but still in the south. Surrounded by God's country.

This is ten kinds of too kewl. Color me clueless but I never paid any attention at all to the little numbers below the comments. :) I love to learn new tricks and even better, you explained everything to where I can do it immediately. Thanks bunches!

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, Merlin, ha ha you don't really want to know if it's your mate do you? it would spoil the fun! ha ha I am actually quite pleased with myself over this because I had the feeling that some of the remarks I was getting were from a so called 'friend' being funny! so now I can track it! hee hee

Hi, Sa'ge, thanks again for reading my ramblings! ha ha i try and do it in a fun way so that people will remember the info better, I think humour and fun always makes you take in boring 'learning' things! lol thanks again nell

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, saleheen, that is what I like to hear! lol it is one of those things that sound boring, but when you realise what it means, it can get addictive! thanks so much, cheers nell

Green Lotus 6 years ago from Atlanta, GA

Thanks Nell...this one is bookmarked and rated very useful!!

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, Green Lotus, Thanks for reading, I was reading a comment and I suddenly spotted the numbers, I wasn't sure what they were, then it suddenly dawned on me! thank goodness for that, I had been a bit wary of some of the comments I was getting and I really wanted to know where they came from! I just checked one a moment ago, and realised it came from Morocco! great stuff! ha ha thanks as always, nell

mulberry1 6 years ago

This is a good tip. I have used it as well, sometimes you just wanna know!

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, mulberry, it took me long enough to figure it out, but now I use it all the time! lol thanks so much nell

Freya Cesare 6 years ago from Borneo Island, Indonesia

Dear Nell, this is very useful information and your sense of humour never failed to bring smile.

But I am afraid I have to inform you,there still one way to trick IP Address. They have program which able to rotate their IP Address half the world away while they only live next to your door! I don't mean to terrifying you, but when people give away solution, it seem other will find another trick to beat it again. @_@

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, Freya, wow! I never knew that! now I will have to try and figure out how to be one step in front of them! I only hope that the one's we look up are legitimate! thanks so much nell

TheMMAZone 6 years ago from Kansas

I really believe this is the basic information everyone needs to know now. It should no longer be advanced information just common knowledge. Thanks for writing a hub on the topic it was very good, thumbs up and marking it especially useful!

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, TheMMAZone, thanks for reading it, it took me ages to figure it out! lol but there it was staring at me all the time! I am glad I found it though, hopefully it will help people if they are wondering where the anonymous comment came from, thanks nell

Hi, Micky, I am glad you found it useful, now I can see where people come from, I don't get so worried if they are leaving a horrible comment! coward aint I? ha ha thanks nell

lisadpreston 6 years ago from Columbus, Ohio

Good information to have. Thanks!

Nell Rose 6 years ago from England Author

Hi, Lisa, I am glad you found it helpful, cheers nell

kims3003 5 years ago

Another great hub written a most gifted author. I learned something new and I love when I find new things on the Internet. I often find so many articles written about the same thing just with a slightly different spin. You write unique and refreshing content. Thanks again!

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Hi, kim, thanks so much, I try and write these sort of hubs with just people like me and you to understand easily, I find there is nothing worse than trying to figure out what someone is trying to explain when they get to technical! ha ha I write it how I would like to read it, if it is easy to read, I find that it will stay in your mind easier, thanks again nell

Rebecca E. 5 years ago from Canada

well, there you go, in fact it works wonders since you can weed out spammers this way... I also have made some of my hubs a sign in only shub, which makes a huge difference.

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Hi, Rebecca, I wish I had spotted it before! lol I was getting a bit paranoid! but it is great now, that is a good idea of making it a sign in only hub, I will probably do the same on some of mine in the future, cheers nell

IP Chick 5 years ago

Nell Rose,

the IP example you give -

"3. Find The IP Number i.e. IP241.333.18"

has 2 mistakes in it.

1. An IP address format is xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (4 octets)

2. xxx is a number between 0-255 (max value of an octet is 2 to the power of 8, counting from 0 => 255). "333" is not valid and you will never see that in an IPv4 IP address.

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Hi, IP Chick, as I said above, it was an example based on the fact that most people didn't even know where it was and what it looked like, if I had explained it the way you have it would have just got people more confused, but thanks for reading

rajaramravi 5 years ago

useful to me

HattieMattieMae 5 years ago from Limburg, Netherlands

Ha Ha yes nell that would have scared me that mumbo jumbo ! :) numbers are not my favorite especially when put together in equation style! lol

farahzachzia 5 years ago from Indonesia

Another lesson to learned from you. Always looking forward to read new hub from you. Very useful.

mothercristina 5 years ago

Thanks for sharing this. If all could explain so simply, how educated we'd all be.

AliciaC 5 years ago from British Columbia, Canada

Thanks for the information, Nell. I knew that an IP address could somehow be used to identify a computer on the Internet, but you've give me more very useful details.

Cathy I 5 years ago from New York

Thank you for a wonderfully simple lesson in information technology. I will bookmark this hub so I can try it. It's really great how we all learn so much from each other on Hub Pages. This is an awesome hub and you are quite the detective.

MartieCoetser 5 years ago from South Africa

Nell, how does one know whether the guy is still in the country of his IP-address? I once knew a scoundrel who said he was now here and then there - all over the world, working. When I looked at the time he sent his e-mails, which clearly states GT plus or minus x hours, I could tell whether he was lying or not. The computer with the IP-address may be a laptop, portable, so for all you know the guy could be right outside your door. ??? Thanks for this info, it will be interesting to trace certain addresses.

Web World Watcher 5 years ago

Very useful information...but be aware that many softwares are available that will hide your ip address and send messages via a proxy server...

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Thanks raj!

Hi, Hattie, some people! ha ha I think she just did that to make herself look inteligent! didn't work I am afraid! hee hee, it takes more intelligence to take something, work it out, then write it down simply, what's the point of all the hoo ha when nobody understands a word you are saying? thanks again for reading, cheers nell

Hi, farah, nice to see you, glad you found it useful, thanks nell

Hi, cristina, thank you! that was what I was hoping, nothing worse than someone spilling out loads of numbers and we have no idea what they are about! ha ha cheers nell

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Hi, Cathy, the reason why I started this hub was because I kept getting dodgy comments! lol so I thought I would turn into Sherlock Holmes and track them down! thanks for reading it, cheers nell

Hi, Martie, when I read your comment, I went to investigate again! and it seems by all the comments and articles from other sites that when you take your laptop somewhere else, it will change its IP address, not necessarily straight away, maybe a few hours, or when you turn it off, so there is a window when someone can be in one place but be tracked in another, of course there are always the bright sparks who know how to keep their IP address the same, or even pay for it to stay the same, and evidently you can change your IP address even if you have a static PC, this hub was aimed really at the people who just use the pc as an everyday thing, but of course we must remember that sometimes if someone is trying to decieve you or us, then they can hide or change it for their own good, hope this helps, nell

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Hi, Web, thanks for reading, yes I am aware that some people do this, but hopefully this will help some people feel better just in case it is the right IP address, not everybody will think to change it, thanks nell

Jamesm1968 5 years ago from UK

Of course, you are assuming that the spammer is not using 'Tor' or 'GhostSurf' to throw you off their scent.

It is possible to anonymously surf the net without ever being traced.

Nell Rose 5 years ago from England Author

Hi, Jamesm, yes of course you are right, this was just to try and stop the people who may not know a lot about how the internet works, thanks for your added info, I really appreciate your reading, thanks nell

skye2day 4 years ago from Rocky Mountains

nell rose WOW I like I really like!! This is very good info to know. Bookmarked sister. God Bless you nellrose, you are precious indeed. Hugs to you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! We do reap what we sow and it is no secret you have reaped a harvest of fans. May Gods face smile favor on you sister, always. Keep on nell Phil 4:13

Nell Rose 4 years ago from England Author

Hi skye, thanks so much, and I am glad you found it useful, and hugs back to you too! lol!

Larry Fields 3 years ago from Northern California

Hi Nell,

My Internet skills are only average. And for a lot of stuff--like IP Addresses, which I'd been ignoring until today--I didn't know if I was on foot or on horseback! I'm looking forward to trying out my new skill. Thanks.

It's also comforting to know that apparently I cannot receive comments on my hubs from UFU alien trolls--unless they actually land their spacecraft, and step into an Internet cafe. But given today's knowledge update, if I receive a comment without an IP Address, I'll probably freak out.

Voted up, useful, and funny.

Nell Rose 3 years ago from England Author

Hi Larry, lol! alien trolls! now thats a sight to see! thanks for the laugh, nell